Streisand Quotes & Sayings

I never liked stardom. It's weird to me. I only like the creative process. I only like the work. — Barbra Streisand

The idea of a liberal media bias is simply a myth. If only it were true, we might have a more humane, open-minded, and ultimately effective public debate on the issues facing the country. — Barbra Streisand

I can take any truth; just don't lie to me. — Barbra Streisand

I must have got my detailed, obsessive streak from my father, who was an English teacher, because my mother wasn't like me at all. — Barbra Streisand

If I were to put on Barbra Streisand and Duke Ellington, one might say the combination isn't good. — Norman Granz

You have to live life in the moment and get the most out of it. — Barbra Streisand

I do have friends that are Republicans, and we have very spirited conversations on a whole range of issues. I am often baffled by why they are Republicans, but I enjoy the dialogue and can move beyond politics to find common ground in my personal relationships. — Barbra Streisand

The audience is the best judge of anything. They cannot be lied to. Truth brings them closer. A moment that lags - they're gonna cough. — Barbra Streisand

When they tried me out as a host on TV, I found that I just couldn't be that gregarious person. I was stranger than that. — Barbra Streisand

I want the best product for my audience, and if I don't care 100%, who will? It's my name, my likeness that goes out there. — Barbra Streisand

What reaches an audience is honesty. If you're saying something truthful that's supposed to be a funny line, it's going to be funny. And if it's supposed to be a serious line, it's going to be serious. But, I don't think there's a distinction between how you play drama or comedy, if it's based in the truth. — Barbra Streisand

How could such a destructive man [referring to Bush] be so popular with the American people? ... Not only is he poisoning our air and water - he's poisoning our political system as well. — Barbra Streisand

I remember watching Barbra Streisand and seeing Jennifer Grey in 'Dirty Dancing' - these were people who acted like me and looked like me. Now it's great that everyone on 'Glee' is so unique and people can relate to us and look up to us. — Lea Michele

When I was working a lot, I felt guilty as a parent. I couldn't pick up my son every day from school, bake him cookies and that kind of thing. — Barbra Streisand

Believe in the power of your voice! Be yourself. Everyone is unique. — Barbra Streisand

You knew the difference between Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, straight away. Now everyone sounds like each other, and I don't think that's right. — Bobby Womack

I prefer things that are private, so I love recording and I love making films, as a filmmaker, because it uses every bit of what you have experienced or know, whether it's graphics composition, decorating, psychology, storytelling, or whatever it is. It's a wonderful thing. — Barbra Streisand

I knew that with a mouth like mine, I just hadda be a star or something. — Barbra Streisand

I love things that are indescribable, like the taste of an avocado or the smell of a gardenia. — Barbra Streisand

Acting, musicals, bringing out an album - not many people have done that. Anthony Newley, Barbra Streisand? — Julian Ovenden

Phil Ramone is very special. Barbra Streisand or Diana Ross ... they are the best. — Giorgio Moroder

I really enjoy watching people like Madonna, or Cher, or Barbra Streisand on the red carpet. I want to see people wearing exciting things that are different and to know that they're not just looking for the latest, most normal thing. — Dita Von Teese

I find George Bush and Dick Cheney frightening, Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft frightening. — Barbra Streisand

Directing is so interesting. You know, it just sort of encompasses everything that you see, that you know, that you've felt, that you have observed. — Barbra Streisand

It is sort of boring to stay in the same spot. You know, I didn't set out to become the first to do this, the first to do that. It was just that my interests were so diversified. — Barbra Streisand

I just became a singer, because I could never get work as an actress. — Barbra Streisand

I'd take out a joint and light it. First, just faking it. Then I started lighting live joints, passing them around to the band, you know. I was great, it relieved all my tensions. And I ended up with the greatest supply of grass ever. Other acts up and down the Strip heard about what I was doing - Little Anthony and the Imperials, people like that - and started sending me the best dope in the world. I never ran out. — Barbra Streisand

Progress, whatever your definition of it, is not inevitable. — Barbra Streisand

I just don't want to be hampered by my own limitations. — Barbra Streisand

Myths are a waste of time. They prevent progression. — Barbra Streisand

I don't read music. Not even essentially. Not even nonessentially. — Barbra Streisand

When I was a teenager I would lock myself in the bathroom for hours, bouffanting my hair like Patty Duke and trying to recreate Barbra Streisand's flawless eyeliner, only to comb it all out and wash it all off before stepping out into the world a butchish bisexual teen. — Beth Ditto

It's like an American tradition. A person gets successful and then he's supposed to change for the worse. It's silly. — Barbra Streisand

A man who graduated high in his class at Yale Law School and made partnership in a top law firm would be celebrated. A man who invested wisely would be admired, but a woman who accomplishes this is treated with suspicion. — Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand has accomplished so much, and Dustin Hoffman as well. They are down to earth and approachable. I admire that. — Kevin Hart

I never sing in the shower either. — Barbra Streisand

Without ruining the ending, the gist is that he's a gay reindeer who can't afford a nose job, but he becomes a superstar in the end. It's all very inspirational. It turns out that, just like Rudolph, what I initially considered to be such a negative is, in fact, the very thing that has made me stand out. Not to sound preachy, but accepting my voice has given me the confidence I've needed to pursue my dreams. And just like Seal rocks his facial scars, Cindy Crawford works her mole, and Barbra Streisand wins every race by a nose, I hope you're inspired to make the most of your possibly less-than-perfect trademark, too. — Chelsea Handler

Look at the list of liberals who are active in politics, if not running. Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Warren Beatty, Springsteen, Spielberg ... And then you look at the conservatives, it's like Chuck Norris, Bo Derek and the Gatlin Brothers. I don't know if being liberal makes you more right, but it does seem like it makes you more talented. — Bill Maher

It's not a date. We're just agreeing to eat at the same table. — Barbra Streisand

Sometimes, when you work with mediocre talents, they feel entitled. They act like stars. Genuinely talented people don't. — Barbra Streisand

I'd love to work with Missy Elliott. I'd love to work with Bonnie Raitt. I'd love, love, love to work with Barbra Streisand. I'm reaching, because why not? You don't know what's going to happen in this life. — Jill Scott

When I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, the neighborhood girls would sit on the stoop and sing. I was known as the kid who had a good voice and no father. — Barbra Streisand

I tried a couple of pop writers - none of the big, big, big ones - but it didn't work for me. I do have a commercial voice; I'm not quirky. I'm very normal and that's probably why I like people like Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston. It's no-nonsense. They sing well, and that's it. — Jessie Ware

I love Barbra Streisand and Sade who've both had careers in soul and I want my music to have that timeless quality that isn't necessarily now. — Jessie Ware

As a young woman, I wanted nothing more than to see my name in lights. — Barbra Streisand

I am very concerned about Barbara Streisand using the 'H' word - 'honkey.' That's what I am concerned about. I am worried about Barbara. — Paul Mooney

You can keep your Streisands. — Rod Stewart

I was a personality before I became a person - I am simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy and driven. — Barbra Streisand

Coming out as a Barbra Streisand fan was way more embarrassing than coming out as a lesbian. To be an artist of my generation willing to be unhip - artists were supposed to be like cowboys. — Deborah Kass

She [Barbra Streisand] was just - we can't know what we mean to each other. You know, artists, you can't know - you can't know that, but she was really important. — Meryl Streep

I was kind of a wild child. I wasn't taught the niceties of life. — Barbra Streisand

I don't care what you say about me. Just be sure to spell my name wrong. — Barbra Streisand

The audience is the barometer of the truth. — Barbra Streisand

You don't ask a man, 'Do you want to be in control [of your job]?' You assume he wants control. Why would a woman be any different? — Barbra Streisand

For me, one of the most disturbing elements of the right wing's political agenda is that it believes that there is one correct spiritual and moral path for all people to follow. The danger inherent in this is its explicit refusal to accept anyone who happens to lead a different lifestyle, and the condemnation of those who differ. — Barbra Streisand

Just imagine how boring life would be if we were all the same. My idea of a perfect world is one in which we really appreciated each other's differences: Short, tall; Democrat, Republican; black, white; gay, straight-a world in which all of us are equal, but definitely not the same. — Barbra Streisand

They're called 'angels' because they're in heaven until the reviews come out. — Barbra Streisand

I'm tired of malicious articles slandering me. — Barbra Streisand

Marlon Brando. The finest actor who ever lived. He was my idol when I was 13. He's done enough work to last two lifetimes. Everything I do, I think: Can Brando play this with me? — Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand has always been an inspiration for me. I admire Jennifer Lopez because she's been against all the odds, and she's made such a name for herself, and she can put her name on anything and it sells, and I admire that about her, but Barbara Streisand and Woody Allen are my favorites. — Lauren London

I've been a big believer in musicians turned actor, going back to Sinatra winning the Oscar for 'From Here To Eternity.' David Bowie in 'Man Who Fell to Earth,' Kris Kristofferson's been great in a bunch of films. Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, I thought was great in 'Precious.' — Peter Berg

My biggest nightmare is I'm driving home and get sick and go to hospital. I say: 'Please help me.' And the people say: 'Hey, you look like ... ' And I'm dying while they're wondering whether I'm Barbra Streisand. — Barbra Streisand

I would trade many an art-film classic for the final exchange between Redford and Streisand in front of the Plaza. — Molly Haskell

what with the follies and an indecent proposal it's been quite a night — Barbra Streisand

Art is the signature of a generation; artists have a way of defining the times. — Barbra Streisand

To have ego means to believe in your own strength. And to also be open to other people's views. It is to be open, not closed. So, yes, my ego is big, but it's also very small in some areas. My ego is responsible for my doing what I do - bad or good. — Barbra Streisand

Being a woman in music was fine, but when I wanted to direct, I was poking my head into a man's world. — Barbra Streisand

My parents loved music, and my father would come home with cassette tapes of Chic and the Village People and Barbra Streisand. We had all these sounds always going. We never had somber music - always upbeat. — Marjorie Gubelmann

I remember when I was 5 living on Pulaski Street in Brooklyn, the hallway of our building had a brass banister and a great sound, a great echo system. I used to sing in the hallway. — Barbra Streisand

I've always wanted to work with Barbra Streisand because she's worked with some of the best background singers in the world who are friends of mine, worked with them in concert or on movie soundtracks, and I always say 'Now, where was I? Where was I when she was hiring people to work with her?' — Darlene Love

Art does not exist only to entertain
but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth. — Barbra Streisand

I realized I was gay in the shower one day with Barbra Streisand. It happened while I was lathering, rinsing, and repeating with Pert Plus. As I was belting out the chorus to my favorite song from 'Funny Girl,' 'Oh my man, I love him so, he'll never know ... ' it hit me. — Ross Mathews

A human being is only interesting if he's in contact with himself. — Barbra Streisand

I'm sure that I don't know everything I want to know. I have so much more to learn. — Barbra Streisand

Not even Barbra Streisand celebrates herself as tirelessly as golf celebrates itself. — Bruce McCall

Part of our society kills what it loves, despises what it's created. It really hates success. — Barbra Streisand

I can say, I am terribly frightened and fear is terrible and awful and it makes me uncomfortable, so I won't do that because it makes me uncomfortable. Or I could say get used to being uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable doing something that's risky. But so what? Do you want to stagnate and just be comfortable? — Barbra Streisand

TRAVIS: I never said I like boys!
GORDO: Ever beat off to Penthouse?
TRAVIS: No.
GORDO: Ever collect baseball cards?
TRAVIS: No.
GORDO: How old is Barbra Streisand?
TRAVIS: 36. Three weeks ago.
GORDO:What do you need - a fucking blueprint? — Steve Kluger

I got sent to a health camp when I was about 6 years old, and we all had to wear the same starchy blue uniform. The lady who took care of me after school knit me a burgundy sweater. It was the only thing that gave me any individuality. — Barbra Streisand

So yeah, when I was a kid, when I was 16, 17, I'd come home from high school, and my dad collected all of Barbra Streisand's records. And she was very young then. I think she probably had three records out, and she was 21, and we had them all. And I knew every single song, every breath, every elision, every swell. And I sang along to it. — Meryl Streep

I wish I could be like Shaw who once read a bad review of one of his plays, called the critic and said: 'I have your review in front of me and soon it will be behind me.' — Barbra Streisand

A large part of me is pure nebbish - plain, dull, uninteresting. There's a more flamboyant part, too. Obviously. — Barbra Streisand

Issues of foreign policy have a place in every election for President. — Barbra Streisand

I might as well be gay. And not just because I love rhinestones and Barbara Streisand. But because Im a sensitive person who is supportive of gay people the same way Im sensitive to grossly obese people and ugly people. — Richard Simmons

On a personal level, as a Christian, it will not be Barbra Streisand I'm standing in front of when I have to make an accounting of my life. — Patricia Heaton

There's a part of you that always remains a child, no matter how mature you get, how sophisticated or weary. — Barbra Streisand

Art finds a way to be constructive. It becomes heat in cold places; it becomes light in dark places. — Barbra Streisand

Nobody on this earth has the right to tell anyone that their love for another human being is morally wrong. — Barbra Streisand

It's very often the artist who gives a voice to the voiceless by speaking up when no one else will. — Barbra Streisand

I can't stand to see red in my profit-or-loss column. I'm Taurus the bull, so I react to red. If I see it, I sell my stocks quickly. — Barbra Streisand

Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan have a lot in common - they're both smarter than their husbands and both consulted the stars for guidance, Nancy with astrology and Hillary with Barbra Streisand. — Bill Maher

My friend Quincy Jones says we won our first Grammys together in 1963. I have no recollection. I don't even remember the room. When he showed me the picture, I remembered what I wore. But it's like awards don't mean anything. — Barbra Streisand

I'm not weird, just different from people who aren't different. — Barbra Streisand

I also have intense relationships with furniture ... probably because we practically had none when I was growing up. — Barbra Streisand

You know, for me, the realization that two people should have the right to form a sacred union regardless of their gender was strengthened when I saw a performance of the play The Normal Heart in 1985. After feeling the love those two men had for each other, I dare anybody not to want them to get married by the end. — Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand is without a doubt one of the most honest people I have ever known. There is no doubt in my mind that she will not be doing any more concerts. Of course, she still will be making records and starring and directing in movies. — Marvin Hamlisch

New Rule: Since Glenn Beck is clearly onto us, liberals must launch our plan for socialist domination immediately. Listen closely, comrades, I've received word from General Soros and our partners in the UN
Operation Streisand is a go. Markos Moulitsas, you and your Daily Kos-controlled army of gay Mexican day laborers will join with Michael Moore's Prius tank division north of Branson, where you will seize the guns of everyone who doesn't blame America first, forcing them into the FEMA concentration camps. That's where ACORN and I will re-educate them as atheists and declare victory in the war on Christmas. — Bill Maher

The moral immune system of this country has been weakened and attacked, and the AIDS virus is the perfect metaphor for it. The malignant neglect of the last twelve years has led to breakdown of our country's immune system, environmentally, culturally, politically, spiritually and physically. — Barbra Streisand

I'm not that ambitious any more. I just like my privacy. I wish I really wasn't talked about at all. — Barbra Streisand

My mother had a great voice. Not like mine, not like my sister's, not like my son's - a high soprano voice, but like a bird. I mean, really beautiful. — Barbra Streisand